UCHealth broke ground on a major expansion project at Memorial Hospital North on Tuesday. The project will nearly double the hospital's size.
According to UCHealth, the expansion includes a new six-story in-patient tower that will add 36 medical-surgical beds and 14 intensive care unit beds when it opens.
That tower will increase the hospital's capacity from 140 beds to 190 beds with the ability to grow to 320 beds as the demand for care increases.
“This groundbreaking represents more than the beginning of a new building,” UCHealth President and CEO Elizabeth B. Concordia said in a statement. “The Memorial Hospital North expansion is a major investment in our community and our mission, strengthening access to high-quality care and ensuring patients throughout southern Colorado can benefit from the nationally recognized specialists and services offered across UCHealth.”
Other aspects of the $463 million expansion include:
- Four new operating rooms in phase one, with four more planned for future phases, bringing the eventual total to 18 ORs
- Parking structure with 875 parking stalls
- Expanded kitchen and dining space for patients, visitors and staff
- Renovation of the main lobby to incorporate the new tower
- Space for more emergency department exam rooms
- Laboratory expansion
The expansion comes amid a growing demand for healthcare in the Colorado Springs & Pueblo regions. According to officials, hospitalizations at Memorial Hospital North increased 25% from 2020-2025, emergency department visits increased 41% and the number of surgeries grew 59%.
“Memorial Hospital North has been operating at or near capacity for several years, and these investments will substantially increase our ability to meet the growing demand for inpatient, surgical and specialty care in northern El Paso County,” UCHealth’s southern Colorado region President and CEO Lonnie Cramer added in a statement.
According to officials, the project spans 308,000 square feet of new construction. About 45% of the space will be built out for immediate use, while the rest will be shell space for future growth.
Construction will take place in phases, and the new parking garage is the first project set to be complete i the spring of 2028.
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